Count the Cost

Prayer – Lord, I want to be Your disciple—to know You more each day…and to serve You forever. Please give me wisdom as I search for You and follow Your way. 

A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, "If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, 'There's the person who started that building and couldn't afford to finish it!' Luke 14:25-30 (Underlined for emphasis.)

 

Meditate. Consider what God has revealed in scripture. Listen to what He is saying.

 

There is always a cost for everything in life. Dollars, time, energy. What does a relationship with God or with others “cost” you? Are you willing to set aside some time everyday just to spend time with the Lord? Will that time be taken away from your family, your job, or perhaps your TV, entertainment, exercise, or socializing time? Would you be willing to get up fifteen or thirty minutes earlier every day just to have a quiet, uninterrupted time with God? How would you spend that time? May I suggest spending even a few minutes reading His word—listening to Him, and then a few minutes praying—letting Him know what is on your heart—although He knows everything about us even before we speak. Still communication is essential in any relationship.

 

Count the cost. What will it cost you financially? If you are giving up something—will that expense be transferred to the Lord? You can’t exactly just not pay for thirty minutes of Netflix on a daily basis just because you are spending that amount of time with God instead of Netflix. But if you are actually giving up something, you could give the value of that time and expense to the Lord by supporting your church or some charitable organization.

 

Interesting that this passage of our focus scripture today also mentions peer pressure—people laughing at someone who couldn’t afford to finish what they had started. How could that be associated with a failed relationship with the Lord? The laughter won’t be so much with people here on earth as possibly with angels in heaven…or just the shaking of heads of the faithful followers of Christ. It is my understanding that all the believers will go to the new earth, as mentioned in Revelation, but only the faithful followers--the victorious--will go into the New Jerusalem. Do you want to spend time now with God so that later in life—your eternal life—you can actually live in God’s new holy city?

All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name. Revelation 3:12 (Read Revelation 21 for more details.)

The choice is yours. Each person gets to develop their own relationship with the Lord, and determine where their home will be for eternity. Whatever you choose for your life, count the cost.

 

Verses of Salvation ~ You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ's suffering and his great glory afterward. They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen. 1 Peter 1:8-12 (Underlined for emphasis.)

 

© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. 

 

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